Will Run For Goat Cheese & Pecan Stuffed Pears

I remember when running 5K seemed like a treat.  A short run.  A rest day.   Easy peasy, lemon squeezy (I hang out with 8 year olds all day. Give me a break).

  Somewhere between that time and finishing my first half-ironman, suddenly losing my mom, surviving what seemed like 8 months of winter and adding two new dogs to our family 5K began to require more motivation that I had most days. 

5K still feels like quite the feat some days but lucky for me I have some friends who have some motivation to spare (or at least they are willing to fake it) and I have a four dog relay team who is more than happy to take turns running with me(I'm convinced that running with all four at the same time would lead to certain death.  At least at this point). 

6K Relay Team

Meet Lenore (bulldog).  Technically we rescued her from the pound.  Really she rescued us.  She likes to wear running t-shirts, hang out in the bathtub when nobody is looking and much to our chagrin she occasionally likes to stand on the kitchen table.  She also likes to launch herself in front of you when running.  2K is her distance of choice.

Ms. Lenore formerly Miss Piggy

Meet Hank (black bouvier).  Hank is the ideal running partner.  He gladly runs along side of you at just the right speed...until he sees something scary then it's every woman for themselves.

Poor hungry Hank.

Meet Jackson (German Shepherd).  Jackson is my inheritance dog.  He loves sports detection, agility, and playing fetch.  Jackson begins each run like he is chasing a cat.  If you are looking for a buddy to do a tempo run with he is your boy.  If not, hold on tight!

Hank Jackson Brown

Then there is Jeb (Blond Bouvier often mistaken for a Doodle).  Running isn't really Jeb's thing unless it is on his terms (like most things in his life).  He likes to pretend like his legs are broken for most of the run until he thinks we are close to home.  Then he likes to gallop.  He also likes to tug at his leash and pretend he is a bucking bronco for the first five minutes of every run.

Tired boy

Goat Cheese & Pecan Stuffed Pears

Post run snack.

(serves 1)

Ingredients

1 pear (cored)

2 T light goat cheese

1T pecans (chopped)

white balsamic vinegar (optional)

Core pear (totally worth investing in an apple corer). Slice into four sections.  Divide goat cheese amongst four slices.  Press chopped pecans into goat cheese.  Drizzle with balsamic vinegar if you are feeling adventurous.

Enjoy four tired dogs laying at your feet. 

Best Friends Forever

   

Will Run For Popcorn Mix

Party!

From January until the end of March I get to spend every second Thursday afternoon with 10-15 students from grades 2 to 5. Talk about organized chaos or some days just chaos!  They are so excited to be in the kitchen cutting and chopping (so far everyone still has all of their digits), trying new foods and playing games that involve nutrition trivia.

I think that I'm crazy for doing this at least once a week but it's really hard not to be excited when you have a bunch of kids  who are dying to take home the red lentil tomato and basil pasta sauce that they made so that they can have it in their lunches the next day or share it with their brothers and sisters.

This week we made Nutty Popcorn Mix.  They used cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds and raisins but I went with what I could scavenge in our cupboards.

Popcorn Mix

(makes approximately 4 servings)

1/4 cup cocoa nibs (or chopped nuts)

1/4 cup dried coconut (or sunflower seeds)

1 T clover honey

1 T water

1 T coconut oil ( or butter, margarine, or Earth Balance)

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup popping corn

1/4 C dried fruit e.g. apricots, peaches, pineapple (or raisins)

1 pinch of cardamom 

1. Make popcorn in a hot air popper or a large pot and set aside.  It's a good idea to get rid of the kernels that didn't pop rather than sorting through them as you eat.  Set aside.

2.  Add cocoa nibs, dried coconut & dried fruit.

3.  Stir honey and water together over medium heat until honey is hot and bubbly (approximately 200 F).   Take care not to burn the honey mixture. 

4.  Add coconut oil, vanilla, and cardamom.

5.  Spread mixture into a large baking pan.

6.  Bake at 300 F for 15 minutes.

7.  Stir and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

* double the honey, coconut oil, water, vanilla & cardamom if you are looking for something a little more sweet.

Will Run For Chocolate Cherry Coconut Energy Bars/Balls

It was an innocent enough question, "Have you started planning for school yet?".  Who asks that question in July?!?  Rather than thinking about lesson planning, curriculum and the lovelies that will be in my class next year I started thinking about lunches and school snacks instead.

Sometimes you need a sweet treat to make it through the day (e.g. on days when you have an opera singing ballerina penguin in your classroom full of 9 & 10 year olds during your math lesson on probability).

Chocolate Cherry Coconut Energy Bars/Balls

(makes 15 bars/balls)

ingredients

4 C puffed kamut (puffed wheat, puffed millet, etc. also work well)

*1 C buckwheat honey

1 C unsweetened dried  coconut

1/2 C cocoa nibs

1/2 C dried cherries

1/4 tsp cardamom

1/4 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla paste (vanilla extract works as well)

* I've also used brown rice syrup and agave nectar but I found the bars to be fairly sticky and I had difficulty getting them to keep their shape.

In a large bowl combine kamut, cocoa nibs, dried cherries and dried coconut.

dry ingredients

In a medium saucepan combine honey, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and vanilla paste.  Bring to a boil and then turn down heat and simmer for approximately 5 minutes (this is not the time to check your e-mail, call your grandmother, etc.  If the honey boils over there will be a sticky disastrous mess.  Luckily, this didn't happen to me today but it was close).

resist the temptation to eat this on its own

Stir honey mixture with kamut mixture and press into a oiled 13 x 9 inch baking pan (I like silicone best for this).

turn onto cutting board

Let cool.  Cut into bars or roll into balls.  Oiling your knife and/or hands is helpful.

cut into bars or roll into balls

While I have been trying to avoid thinking about lesson planning, curriculum, etc.  I am very excited to be organizing a running club for my elementary school this year.  I found a very cool website www.runforlife.ca that has tonnes of resources that are definately worth checking out.